Macanese law enforcement agencies have allegedly handed at least three people – two of whom hold Hong Kong permanent residency – over to mainland China in recent years.
In 2007 and 2008, Macau’s Court of Final Appeal ruled that turning the aforementioned people in to China was illegal and undermined justice in Macau, but the agencies involved have apparently not been punished, according to the SCMP.
Protocol for either S.A.R.’s surrender of fugitives to the mainland has reportedly been discussed behind closed doors for two and a half years, which an unidentified Macau-based lawyer said was probably “to legitimise what they have already been doing, because they know it’s illegal”.
The source said: “All of this causes me great concern as a lawyer and also as a citizen. It’s futile to have illusions.”, and added “China will continue to detail people and send them back to the mainland with the collaboration of local authorities.”
Court documents refer to a case from March 2007, when a woman travelling from Hong Kong to Macau on March 18 was intercepted by immigration officers in order to “collaborate in an investigation”.
The woman, who was supposedly wanted by Interpol for tax evasion, was turned over to mainland authorities by the Macanese Prosecution Office a day later.
In a document dated March 20, 2007, Macau’s Court of Final Appeal ruled that such practices were illegal, saying “As there are no interregional or local rules which regulate the return of fugitives between mainland China and Macau […] the Public Prosecution Office, the Judiciary Police or other public authorities cannot detain an individual who is being sought by Interpol, in order to return them to the mainland.”
However, a Hong Kong resident was detained when entering Macau less than a year later, on Feb. 6, 2008, for allegedly committing a burglary in mainland China.
The director of the Judiciary Police in Macau said they had followed Interpol’s instructions, according to relevant court documents.
The Court of Final Appeal reiterated the illegality of the situation, saying such proceedings following their prior ruling “discredit the justice, undermine the rule of law and do not confer prestige to the Macau SAR.”
In 2015, Wu Quanshen, a former member of the CCP and amongst Interpol’s 100 most wanted fugitives for alleged corruption, had his valid residency permit revoked by the Macanese government, apparently on the orders of mainland authorities.
Macanese authorities deny any illegal activities on their part, telling the SCMP that “everything is according to the law and international obligations”, and declined to disclose how many fugitives Macau had transferred to China.
Negotiations are underway between Macau, Hong Kong, and mainland China regarding the surrender of fugitives. An agreement is expected to be signed by this year, which Occupy Central convenor and University of Hong Kong law professor Benny Tai said was of “grave concern”.
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